The Middle Five · Chapter
Edwin explained
Edwin, a young Omaha boy, is brought to the mission school by his father.
What happens
Edwin, a young Omaha boy, is brought to the mission school by his father. He is renamed Edwin M. Stanton, given new clothes, and struggles to adapt to the school's customs, particularly during prayer, which he compares to hiding in the grass. The chapter also includes a flashback to Edwin's parents discussing his education and his reluctant departure from home.
Themes in this chapter
Cultural Identity and Assimilation
Edwin is renamed, given new clothes, and taught to follow white customs, highlighting the tension between his Omaha heritage and the school's assimilationist goals.
Education and Discipline
The school enforces strict discipline during prayer and lessons, contrasting with Edwin's free-spirited upbringing.
Family and Community
Edwin's parents discuss his education out of love and foresight, and the community supports sending children to the school for future benefit.
Characters to notice
- Me
The narrator, who helps Edwin adjust to school life, sits with him at supper, and shares a bed with him and Lester.
- Edwin M. Stanton
A new boy at the mission school, renamed Edwin M. Stanton. He is curious and struggles with the school's religious practices, comparing prayer to hiding in the grass.
- Brush
Helps fit Edwin with new clothes and shares a double bed with Warren.
- Graybeard
The teacher who welcomes Edwin, registers him under a new name, and leads the prayer session.
- Lester
Wants to sleep with the narrator, and ends up sharing a wide bed with Edwin and the narrator.
- Wa-honʻ-e-ga
Edwin's father, who brings him to the school and asks the narrator to look after him.
Key passages
“I showed him how to bow his head when the blessing was asked, and to turn his plate. He silently followed my whispered instructions, and was very quiet while supper was going on, but during the religious exercises which followed, when we dropped on our knees, he became very anxious to know why we did so.”
The narrator teaches Edwin the school's mealtime and prayer rituals, but Edwin becomes confused and restless during the kneeling prayer.
Highlights Edwin's initial difficulty adapting to Christian practices.
“What are we hiding for? This is the way we do when we are hiding in the grass.”
Edwin asks why everyone is kneeling, comparing it to hiding in the grass, a reference to Omaha hunting or play.
Shows Edwin's cultural perspective and misunderstanding of the prayer.
“I don't want the little one to go. Why don't you send the two big boys; they're hardly ever home anyway, and they might as well be at the house of the White-chests as anywhere else. What would the house be without the little one? We'd be very lonely, at least I'd be.”
Edwin's father expresses reluctance to send his youngest son to school, fearing loneliness, and suggests sending the older boys instead.
Reveals the emotional conflict within the family about sending children to the mission school.